By Navya Sahay
For several months, "Parasite" was all the film world could talk about. Winner of the 92nd Best Picture Oscar and a triumphant accomplishment for the South Korean film industry, "Parasite" was lauded by critics and discussed on a plethora of platforms. I had heard of the film, then researched its plot, reviews, etc as one does when one has no time to actually watch the film. I felt I had a clear idea of what the film would be like and decided I would watch it at a more opportune time. When I already knew everything about the film, I didn't think that I was missing out terribly. Judging from what I knew, I thought the film to have an interesting concept, but I also was suspicious that it was hyped up a bit too much. Well, well, how wrong I was. One can't and shouldn't hold back when credit is due. So treat this as my standing ovation to the creators of this beautiful, brilliant tour de force.
The first thing you need to understand about Parasite is that it's a masterpiece. It's like the Mona Lisa of films, in that it has so many different layers that one can just immerse themselves in its drowning sea of creativity. For those of you who are still Parasite-virgins, here's what the film is about. The Kim family stricken by poverty live in a semi-underground basement. Kim-ki-woo, son of the Kim family, has a friend Min-hyuk who suggests he takes over his tutorial position for the daughter of a rich household- the Park family. Kim-ki-woo fakes the necessary recommendations and soon gains the post with a bit of lying and some effective playacting. Mrs. Park, the wide-eyed, beautiful, shallow mistress of the household believes everything said by Kim-Ki Woo who recommends his sister- Kim -ki-Jung as an art teacher for the young son- Da-song of the Park family- Da-song. Slowly but surely, the Kim Family all gets jobs in the Park family household by creating a web of lies and of course not revealing to the owners that they are related. They begin to go to the large, rich house of the family daily and essentially become parasites, dependent on their host. Now I am not going into the minutia of what actually happens as I really think that everyone should watch this film. If you haven't watched it yet, make it a priority to do so as soon as possible.
So what is so unique about this film? Well, it is the most realistic portrayal of class difference that you can ever find in a movie. Unafraid, the film reaches into uncharted territories as effortlessly as if it was navigating reality. Which it is. It is a carefully constructed, yet extremely accurate, portrayal of reality. You see a young boy of a poor family hoping to make it big. The cunning ways in which they manipulate the shallow, filthy rich Park family is hilarious to watch. And yet it also hits quite close to home. I laughed out loud when I saw Kim-ki-Jung explain quite solemnly to Mrs.Park how her son's artworks show signs of mental instability and traumatic experiences. But even that comic element comes with a sting as it pokes at the upper class who are always so worried about harsh realities creeping into their wealth-filled world, that they believe in all sorts of new-fangled ideas such as art therapy to cure it. When Kim-ki-Jung recites this incident to the rest of her family, she mocks Mrs.Park who fell hook-line and sinker for her story and calls her a "crazy bitch". The double-faced nature of this story cuts sharply as one is forced to see how classes see each other. And is Kim-ki Jung really wrong? Mrs. Park is shallow and stupid. There's no getting around that. When you have so much wealth, who exactly are you? Or when you have barely any wealth who do you become? These are some of the questions Parasite asks its audience.
The second half of the film takes on a more serious note. After the Park family goes out, the Kim family all laze around in their large house, using all sorts of facilities and daydreaming about so much wealth. But their illusion is soon broken as the previous housekeeper-- Gook- Mwan- gwang who they got fired comes in and reveals how her husband-Oh Gyen Se has been living underneath in the basement of the Park family household for a long time. This is a commentary on the subtleties within each class. While the Kim family is certainly lower than the Park family, there is someone else who lives literally lower than them under the basement. What you see next is a class struggle for survival. The Kim family perseveres, albeit a bit battered and continue to serve the Park Family. But this whole fabric of deceit comes undone in the climactic point of the film: during Da Song's birthday party, a vengeful Oh Gyen creeps out of his basement after he struggles with Kim-ki-Woo and goes into killer-frenzy mode. Blood is shed, Kim-Ki Jweng dies and all is lost. One scene which was particularly iconic was when the head of the Kim family- Kim ki taek strikes Mr. Park after he doesn't even blink an eye at his dying daughter, but is more worried about the dreadful smell that comes from the corpses. We see his frustration finally reach a breaking point as he commits murder and then rushes out. An initially light-hearted film evolves into a dark, bleak mockery. Later, Mr. Kim says how the whole incident didn't seem real and so real at the same time. This statement is an apt one because while the murder seems too crude to be part of such a civilised atmosphere, it was really the most real expression between classes there ever was. Every character was stripped of all civilities, reduced to their basic, bestial selves-- the animals we truly are.
Parasite carefully shows the class- disparity in all its ugliness, not shying away from difficult topics. It shows how the rich don't really love each other with their quick dismissiveness of the feeling. Yet it also shows, through a very obscene sex scene involving Mr. and Mrs. Park, how the rich for all their belief in being civil is just the same as the poor with the same base needs as them. The film reveals how the desperation and optimism of the Kim family hang in fine balance because they may fantasise about a better life but they have no plan as only through lying and wrongdoing are they able even to escape from absolute poverty. It shows the complex relationship between classes and how while the poor yearn for the lives of the rich, they also mock them. It also shows how servants are treated as part of the household, but they will never truly be part of the elite society that they crave so much for. It shows how the rich are sometimes nothing more than the wealth they represent.
The cinematography of Parasite is masterfully done. The way it shoots its settings which it refuses to cover up with glamor, adds authenticity to its very real depiction. It also plays with layers as the Kim family live in a semi-basement. Oh Gye Se lives far more underground while the Park family enjoy the luxury of sunlight. A literal staircase-level portrayal of the classes. And when Kim-Ki Taek ends up living in the basement at the end of the film, the cycle of a parasite in another person's house starts again.
The acting in the film is nothing short of perfection. Each actor is their character, you are not aware of the distinction as you are in some films. They don't look like they are acting. They are what you see. Each emotion, each dialogue is new and fresh. There is no redundancy or exaggeration.
The ending of the film is wonderfully done. At first, I thought that the film was over with Kim-ki woo's determination to become rich, buy the house and reunite with his father. But this euphoric dreamy illusion is broken as the next shot shows Kim-ki Woo writing this hope in a letter as he sits in his dingy, dirty, shabby semi-basement of a home. A last bitter reminder to the audience that hope we can, but there is no escaping reality.
Parasite isn't an easy film to watch. But it's one that must be watched. It jabs at social threads that one didn't even know existed and shows how they can be broken. It is rare to get a film so fearless in its portrayal and so interesting at the same time. And you might just be tickled by the hypocrisy and irony of the whole thing as I was when I found myself eating noodles from my privileged, comfortable seat at home as I watched a film about classes.
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